Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

While many people are inspired to write a piece of family history, a memory or heartfelt reverence for ancestors’ endeavors isn’t usually enough to create a great picture book. Laurie Wallmark’s patient pondering to find the focus along with her expert knowledge of how to write an engaging story resulted in her latest release, RIVKA’S PRESENTS.

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Finding the Focus for Rivka’s Presents by Laurie Wallmark

RIVKA’S PRESENTS is a story close to my heart. My parents and grandparents grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City. As a child, I listened to their stories about living in that neighborhood in the early 1900s. My mother spoke of the sense of community she shared with other first and second generation Jewish immigrant families, all speaking Yiddish. My grandmother related her experiences of working at the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.

Years ago, I took a tour of the Tenement Museum in New York. This museum celebrates the stories of immigrants through guided tours of recreated homes of former residents. Walking through these small apartments, I could imagine the home life of my ancestors. I felt how cramped their tiny, three-bedroom apartments must have been. Everywhere I looked, artifacts reminded me of my family history.

I knew there had to be a story for children here—one that would honor the way of life of immigrants to our country. Unfortunately, I had no idea what that story was. Later, when I took the museum tour again, I had the same thought, but still no story.

Clearly, I needed to narrow down my topic from immigration in general to a specific story. I decided to concentrate on my mother’s life growing up in that neighborhood during that time period. What was her daily life like, both at home and out in the community? What were her dreams? What were her challenges? What were her responsibilities? The more I thought about it, the more one particular aspect of her life came to the forefront. Like Rivka, the little girl in my story, my mother couldn’t wait to start school.

But the story of a girl wanting to start school is not that interesting by itself. There needed to be an obstacle to her doing so. Why couldn’t she start school with all the other children?

Maybe there was an historical event that could provide an obstacle. What were some historical events during that time period? World War I? Since five-year-olds weren’t off fighting at the front, I didn’t think that would work. The 1918 flu? Maybe Rivka could be too ill to go to school. That might work, but then she would be too ill to do anything else. A story about a little girl sick in bed wouldn’t be that interesting.

I kept coming back to the idea of the 1918 flu, though. How could this deadly disease prevent Rivka from starting school? Then the answer came to me. Illness doesn’t just affect the sick person, but the entire family as well. With Papa sick, Mama had to financially support the family. That meant doing more than piecework sewing at home. She had to work outside the home at the shirtwaist family (like my grandmother). With Papa bedridden and Mama away at work, it was up to Rivka to take care of her baby sister.

Yes! I now had my main character (Rivka), her goal (wanting to start school), and the obstacle (having to mind her sister). How would Rivka solve this problem? I thought about what my mother might have done in this situation. Well, that was easy. She wouldn’t have let anything stop her from getting an education. If she could go to school, she’d find another way to learn. And that’s just what Rivka did in the story.

Why do I consider RIVKA’S PRESENTS as an example of “mining the heart?” I started with family stories, added in historical context, then stirred in personality characteristics from my mother. This produced a totally fictional story with the heart of family.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of RIVKA’S PRESENTS by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Adelina Lirius. (US addresses only, please. Winner announced June 23, 2023)